“The group’s core business, Supermarkets RSA, achieved 2.58% sales growth for the period. Persistently low internal food inflation in SA of only 0.2% for the period marks 18 months of near stagnant prices of basic foods in which the group has a larger market share,” Engelbrecht said.

“The core Shoprite middle income consumer base remains under pressure. This was evidenced in Christmas sales in categories such as back-to-school essentials, which outperformed traditional discretionary purchases such as toys for the first time.”

South African consumers have saved billions of rands in loyalty programme rewards offered and are increasingly taking advantage of their reward points given the country’s tough economic climate, which is having an impact on consumer goods including fuel, electricity and food.

According to Clicks customer marketing executive, Heloise Janse Van Rensburg, the Clicks ClubCard loyalty programme, one of the oldest, which was introduced in 1995, was doing exceptionally well, especially given the tough economic climate the retailer was trading in.

Janse Van Rensburg says this speaks to how the retailer’s ClubCard customers valued their cashback rewards.

“Our Clicks ClubCard has 7.5 million active members.We provide simple, easy rewards that are accessible and convenient to our customers. In 2017 alone, over R320 million was paid to ClubCard members in cashback rewards,” says Janse Van Rensburg.

She says ClubCard cashback could be used to pay for purchases in Clicks, Claire’s and The Body Shop stores.

Consumers have saved billions of rands in loyalty programme rewards offered and are increasingly taking advantage of their reward points.

Janse Van Rensburg added that ClubCard had an array of ClubCard partners like Shell, Discovery HealthCare, Sorbet, The Body Shop, Musica, SpecSavers and Execuspecs, City Lodge Hotel Group, Europecar and Netflorist where customers can earn further ClubCard points and benefits.

John Bradshaw, Pick n Pay’s head of marketing, says the Smart Shopper rewards programme was launched in 2011 to reward loyal customers, the retailer’s way of saying thank you to its customers.

Bradshaw says customer reaction to the launch of the programme exceeded Pick n Pay’s expectations and the retailer currently had more 7 million active customers.

He added that Pick n Pay modernised Smart Shopper early last year to introduce more personalised discounts and during this financial year, offered R3 billion in personal discounts to its Smart Shoppers.

“Accessibility is critical and we always look at ways to make this easier for customers across multiple platforms. We have already gone digital with the launch of our mobile app which as proved very popular. Innovation has played an important role in Smart Shopper’s success,” says Bradshaw.

He added that every Thursday, Smart Shoppers receive personal Just for You discounts on the products they buy most often.

“These are worth over R500 per customer per year. These personalised discounts are automatically loaded weekly for each Smart Shopper. Customers can claim these by loading the discounts onto their card at the Smart Shopper kiosk in-store, via email or on the Pick n Pay mobile app. The card is then swiped at the till with the qualifying products to get the savings. These personalised discounts have been well received with customers and over a million customers are using their personalised discounts,” says Bradshaw.

Woolworths says the Woolworth WRewards programme was not a traditional points based programme and customers enjoy instant savings at point of sale (POS) on their till slip and on the Woolworths App, product voucher offers and up to 3 percent Cash back when buying with their Woolworths Credit card.

Woolworths says the WRewards in its current format had been in operation since September 2010 customers have saved a total of R538m during the period June 26, 2017 to June 24 2018.

Consumers have saved billions of rands in loyalty programme rewards offered and are increasingly taking advantage of their reward points. Picture: Nabeelah Shaikh
“No other programme gives you the opportunity to give back via a Community Loyalty programme such as MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet. To date the MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet programme has given back over R570 since its inception in October 1997,” says Woolworths.

Week after week, there is always a petrol price hike threat to consumers in South Africa. Over a period of 10 years, the petrol price has fluctuated, increasing by a whopping 66% from R9,66 to R16,08. In the last 8 months of 2018, the price has increased from R14,42 to R16,08 inland.

The price hikes in 2018 alone placed a strain on the consumers and prompted the public outcry that led to the subsequent intervention by the government. The Department of Energy intervened after the Automobile Association (AA) of South Africa anticipated a drastic 23c to 25c per litre fuel price increase for the 5th of September 2018. The intervention led to the fuel price only increasing by 4.5c per litre.

According to Central Energy Fund calculations, local consumers could be hit by another bombshell as early indicators are that the fuel price could rise by R1.14 a litre in October. Making matters worse is the shock of the recession and the threat of downgrades by rating agencies.

OLX believes this directly affect more than three thirds of their users. “While OLX prides itself for making it super easy to buy and sell almost anything, our main source of traffic is price-conscious car buyers,” says Diana Mjojo, Communications Manager at OLX South Africa. “With the fuel prices going up again, this is a trend we don’t see coming to an end any time soon and we’re concerned about how it affects our users.”

9 out of the top 10 search terms for 2018 on the OLX platform are for the Cars & Bakkies category. According to the company, the OLX car buyer is financially savvy. They are willing to accept higher mileage vehicles if it means the price of the vehicle is lower.

Mjojo says OLX users are willing to save as much money as possible during these economically hard times. “Users will often pick the practical option over luxury, which may include older models, if it means the vehicles are cheaper. Not only are they conscious about the price of the vehicle but about the petrol consumption as well,” says Mjojo.

OLX advises consumers who aren’t already buying their cars on the platform to consider doing so as that is a smart way to save and set yourself economically free. “Whether you are looking for your first car, need a car to match your muscles or upgrading, OLX is a central place for you. We work with car dealerships that list their approved cars on the platform,” adds Mjojo.

The possibility of reviewing the fuel levies downwards to ease the financial burden on motorists and consumers has not been ruled out, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The fuel levy is part of fiscal architecture we have in our country … we have said we want to look at that … the fuel levy is precisely one of those we are looking at,” Ramaphosa said in parliament on Wednesday

“We are sensitive to the burden imposed on our people.”

The price of fuel recently went up to more than R16 a litre in inland provinces. The hikes are expected to have a ripple effect on the economy.

The price of a litre of petrol in SA has more than doubled in 10 years, while the levies increased from about R1.30 in 2008 to the current R5.30.

The fuel levy contributes close to R63bn annually to the fiscus. The Road Accident Fund levy accounts for R1.93 of the fuel price. Taxis and other public transport operators have already upped their fares in response to the increases.

Ramaphosa said any decision would have to weigh the advantages of reducing the fuel levy against the loss of revenue for the state, which will have an effect “on a whole lot of things”.

“It’s not as easy as snapping a finger and coming up with an answer … it’s one of those issues we continue to look at and seek solutions for.… We import a commodity we have no control of in terms of prices,” said Ramaphosa, during a question-and-answer session.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane had asked Ramaphosa whether there was a plan to reduce the fuel levy, which he called a “corruption tax”. “The RAF [Road Accident Fund] is declaring losses and money is being wasted. Is there a plan to reduce the fuel levy?” he asked.

Department of energy officials told parliament on Tuesday that any adjustment to the fuel levy could only take place in the next financial year.

The government has said before there is nothing much it can do to stem the fuel increases since the country imports the bulk of its requirements. The change in the price of petrol is typically a function of both changes in international exchange rates, particularly the US dollar-rand exchange rate, and the change in international crude oil prices.

Ramaphosa also answered questions on the unemployment crisis and the burning issue of land expropriation without compensation.

“Since 2009 I have heard about plans and summits, yet millions of South Africans are still unemployed,” said Maimane. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome or keeping the same people [in the cabinet] and expecting a different outcome.… Can we bring change so we can expect a different economic trajectory?”

Ramaphosa said the cabinet would soon announce details to stimulate economic growth, including finalising the Mining Charter and allocation of broadband spectrum.

“We want to unlock the levers that hold the economy back,” said Ramaphosa.

The president hit back at Maimane, saying: “I’ve not heard anything wise that you’ve said.… You are playing the people or the man, not the substantive issues that have to do with economic growth.”

Without land redistribution there would be no stability in the country, Ramaphosa said.

“Transformation means we must have redistribution of land because there was an injustice committed many years ago.… If you do not want stability then do not transform … but if you want stability then you must transform.… We will make sure that our country succeeds. Even the landowners must embrace this process,” he said.

Shopping: love it or loathe it, a wave of innovation is heading this way – and it promises to make a visit to your local mall a far more productive and pleasant experience.

Deloitte is at the forefront of this trend with the creation of a Connected Retail Experience at its Deloitte Greenhouse innovation hub in Cape Town.

Shorter queues at checkout, a much better selection of goods, personalised, relevant special offers and the ability to have out-of-stock items delivered to your door within 24 hours. These are just a sample of the innovations coming to the South African retail sector that promise to make your shopping experience a whole lot more enjoyable and engaging.

That’s according to Corniel van Niekerk, senior manager at Deloitte, the professional services firm which is emerging as one of the key players bringing what’s known as ‘Connected Retail’ to South Africa.

“It’s an exciting time for consumers and retailers alike. Connected Retail technologies will not only make for a vastly improved shopping experience for customers, but retailers and suppliers who embrace and implement them effectively will see a significant boost to their bottom line. In this sense it’s a genuine win-win situation,” says Corniel.

So how could such a Connected Retail experience play out for you as a shopper? It may begin well before a visit to the store with an email, instant message or app notification about a product you’re actually interested in, rather than annoying spam about stuff with no relevance to you.

You may, for example, have a dinner party coming up at the weekend and get a discount voucher on a hard-to-find ingredient for that recipe you bookmarked in the store’s smartphone app last week which has now come into season and just arrived at the store.

Once you go to the store, the personalised experience continues. After you put the ingredients for that recipe into your basket and approach the wine section, you get a notification alerting you to a Pinot Noir that’s not only on promotion but will pair perfectly with the wild mushroom risotto you’ve planning to serve your guests.

Another innovation called ‘endless aisles’ will allow you to buy items currently out of stock or not usually stocked at the store, like a garment or shoes in a less common size or colour, and have it delivered to your home within a day or two.

And leaving with your purchases promises to be a more streamlined affair thanks to technology that lets stores better monitor customer flows and allocate staff to till points more quickly when demand increases – one element of the Connected Workforce which will empower and incentivise staff with technologies like gamification.

Self-service checkouts – which are currently being trialled by a major retailer at one of its Cape Town stores – promise, if properly implemented, to make for another quicker and easier checkout option for customers.

“The coming Connected Retail revolution will combine the best aspects of the online and bricks and mortar shopping experience, making for happier, more loyal customers who spend more at the store,” says Corniel.

But for this to happen will require looking beyond the Connected Customer, Connected Store and Connected Workforce, and bringing a series of technologies and innovations to the entire retail value chain.

Digitalisation and the store of the future have been topics of discussion in various forums, but at Deloitte, we believe it’s now time to make the concept real for the clients in our market and link business value to practical solutions,” says Corniel.

To this end, the firm recently strengthened its South African retail team with the addition of a number of individuals with extensive expertise in the international and domestic retail sectors.

It has also established a physical Connected Retail Experience at its Deloitte Greenhouse innovation hub in Cape Town. This immersive, interactive experience allows visitors to gain practical, tangible insights into every aspect of the Connected Retail ecosystem, sampling proven solutions alongside brand new technology relevant to each of the touch points: consumer, store, workforce, supplier and supply chain.

“It’s part of Deloitte’s new focus on ‘show not tell’ and we’re confident it will give our retail sector clients a significant advantage over their competitors as they position themselves to avoid the pitfalls and capitalise on the enormous opportunities offered by the Connected Retail wave,” concludes Corniel.

Stellenbosch Law Clinic filed an application in the Western Cape High Court, seeking judicial intervention on the manner in which debt is collected. It believes debt collection needs to be regulated and that costs must be capped.

The clinic is joined by Summit Financial Partners in representing 10 of their clients. All the major role players in the credit industry are involved, with 49 respondents, including all the major banks, the lending institutions, the ministers of Justice and Trade and Industry, and the National Credit Regulator.

“We have a lot of situations where people have been garnished with emolument attachment orders against their salaries. When you sit down and look at it you find amounts in excess of five, six, seven times the principal debt and they’re expected to continue making payments on it,” he says.

In one case, a client was granted an initial loan of R600, but had paid back more than R5 000 – about eight times the initial loan amount. In another, a farm labourer, earning R2000 a month, has R970 garnished from his monthly salary. Back in 2011, he was given a loan of R16 000 and has repaid in excess of R31 500 – yet the creditor alleges he owes R37 000.

Van der Merwe says the reason they get away with it is because there are no rules that the costs levied against the debtor are taxed.

“What you have is the creditors going to their attorneys or their collection agents and telling them to collect on the debt but the charges are borne by the debtor.

“This is why the debtors end up paying these astronomical amounts for small loans, because the attorney and collection agency fees are dumped on them.”

The common law in duplum rule says that interest cannot accrue to more than the capital amount. Since 2007, when the National Credit Act (NCA) came into effect, the statutory in duplum rule has been interpreted by institutions in a myriad ways.

“This is why we are going to court: to request a declaratory order that the statutory in duplum is applicable to all the interest, the costs, including the legal fees that are levied against the debtor – irrespective of whether a judgment has been granted.”

Van der Merwe says on a proper interpretation of the relevant sections of the NCA, it would mean that if the debtor is in default under the credit agreement these amounts may not exceed the unpaid balance of the principal debt at the time of default.

“When a consumer is in default all the combined interest, the collection costs and so on cease to run when they reach the unpaid balance of the principal debt.”

“The problem is creditors say legal costs don’t form part of it, or that this isn’t applicable after judgment.”

In addition to the two declaratory orders, asking for clarity on how sections 101 and 103 of the NCA are interpreted, the clinic is also asking that the court declare that legal fees may not be recovered from the debtor unless they have been taxed.

“Nowhere in the National Credit Act is a distinction drawn between legal fees and collection costs.

“What we’re saying is that creditors want to use expensive attorneys to collect on miniscule debts; debtors can’t be expected to pay those fees.

“We shouldn’t allow debtors to be abused in this way – we need to the court to make a ruling.”

Once the court has clarified allowable collection costs, the clinic wants it to order that an independent expert recalculate the applicants’ indebtedness and then order that if there is an overpayment, the money must be repaid to the debtors.

But before consumers get excited about having collection fees and interest repaid, Van der Merwe says prescription might be at play. “You might have trouble in court claiming that money back because prescription would have to be taken into consideration.

“There will be clarity: everyone will know what is expected and people won’t be abused financially as a result of uncertain legal interpretation.”

Van der Merwe says they are not attempting to vilify small cash loan providers, the credit industry or attorneys in general: “We applaud those creditors who are honest, give loans responsibly and collect responsibly: they play an important part in our economy.

“We are not tackling the industry in general – we have an issue with unscrupulous guys who don’t play by the rules. We are not going to assist so called ‘professional debtors’ either, who abuse the system by getting loan after loan at creditors’ expense if there are no merits in their cases.

“We have a problem with creditors who abuse low-income earners by coaxing them into enticing loans which they would never be able to service based on their limited wages.”

In 2016, the law clinic won a landmark case in the Constitutional Court, which found that several practices relating to the abuse of emolument attachment orders were unconstitutional.

“The court also considered the validity of the initial loan agreements which regularly included interest of 60% annually and they were concluded absent of any, or alterna- tively after severely defective, affordability assessments. Those transactions were conducted in breach of section 81 of the NCA which talks about reckless credit.

“Those specific creditors want to extend reckless credit to consumers, who they know won’t be able to repay the loans, and then they abuse the situation by putting debtors into a debt trap that they’ll never be able to get out of.

“People like that shouldn’t be able to shirk responsibility in their collection when they use illegal practices. They cause economic catastrophe in the lives of those clients.”

Van der Merwe says that after the Marikana massacre of August 16, 2012, clear linkages were drawn between the demands for higher wages and the abuses in the credit industry.

“Those workers demanded more money to allow them and their families to make a living because their salaries were severely garnished by credit providers that were instituting emolument attachment orders that were illegal and unconstitutional.

“We are trying to avoid those situations arising in the future, by asking the court to assist us in fostering a healthy and responsible credit environment.”

Debit order disputes have increased significantly over the last three years, according to the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA).

Yet, it said recent investigations have shown that in the majority of cases, proof that debit orders were indeed authorised by consumers could be provided.

According to PASA, the increase in debit order disputes could mean that companies have bad practices in obtaining such debit order mandates, or that consumers are asking their banks to reverse actual valid debit orders.

Consumers could be doing this, because the reversal of such legitimate debit orders creates temporary cash flow relief for them. PASA emphasises however, that this kind of behaviour by consumers is not acceptable and has become a huge concern for the financial services industry.

As part of a project to reduce debit order disputes, banks are investigating ways to enhance their current dispute and prosecution processes.

Over the last few years PASA has been working with banks to address debit order abuse. Initiatives include – statistically identifying potential problematic companies, refining the minimum criteria for mandates, and managing a debit order abuse list which can result in “rogue companies” being excluded from the system.

Initiatives also include a process to investigate and issue fines or initiating forensic investigations and prosecution when companies do not have mandates or have mandates that do not conform to minimum requirements.

DebiCheck

One of the most pertinent, but longer-term solutions to curb debit order abuse remains the Authenticated Collections project that was started in 2013.

Now close to implementation, the project will deliver a new type of debit order, called DebiCheck. Currently there are 11 banks participating in DebiCheck. Through this new debit order system, a debit order will only be processed to a consumer’s account if the mandate for such a debit order has been electronically confirmed by the consumer.

This means that consumers will be aware of which DebiCheck debit orders will be processed to their accounts – and these debit orders will not be processed by the bank if they are outside the agreed conditions the consumer initially confirmed.

As a result, PASA foresees that the number of invalid debit orders being processed as well as the number of consumer disputes where valid mandates are in place will rapidly decline.

Improving safety and efficiency

Additionally, an interbank committee has been established and mandated to improve the safety and efficiency of debit orders. This is through including new ways to better identify existing users abusing the system, enhanced measures and support to ensure offenders are adequately investigated and prosecuted, and processes that will assist in curtailing improper consumer behaviour.

PASA says consumers continue to have the right to dispute or instruct their bank to reverse debit orders they have not agreed to, or which are processed outside the mandate they have given.

They should continue to be watchful when entering into contracts – verbally, in writing or electronically. PASA also encourages consumers to check their bank statements on a regular basis. Also, not to provide or confirm account information if they are not certain what exactly it will be used for.

The industry is currently involved in the prosecution of certain rogue collectors. PASA believes the new measures it is working on will significantly assist the authorities and improve the success of prosecution.

Treasury estimates that the total debt that could fall under the debt extinguishment proposals made in the National Credit Amendment Bill proposed by Parliament’s trade and industry committee could range between R13.2bn and R20.7bn.

Banks and retailers would be the most heavily affected by the proposed scrapping of debt‚ Treasury said in a presentation to Parliament’s trade and industry committee on Tuesday during public hearings on the proposals.

The committee has proposed amendments to the National Credit Act‚ which include writing off the debt of those earning below R7‚500 month and who fall within the threshold of realisable assets.

According to research by consultancy firm Eighty20‚ about 56% of the credit active market of about 18-million has an income of R7‚500 a month or less.

“Based on the income estimates approximately 9-million borrowers could potentially meet the eligibility criteria for debt intervention as per the draft bill‚” the organisation said in a presentation to the committee.

“In total borrowers that could qualify for debt review hold over 16-million loans. 29% of these loans (4‚7-million) are three months or more in arrears belonging to borrowers who could qualify for debt intervention. The total outstanding balance on these loans is around R20‚7bn.”

The Black Sash said in its presentation that the debt relief proposals would provide much-needed assistance to social grant beneficiaries who are prey to loan sharks.

The Black Sash has been at the forefront of exposing the vulnerability of social grant beneficiaries to unlawful deductions and the predations of loan sharks. The organisation welcomed the R7‚500 income threshold as this would cover many social grant recipients.

Black Sash national advocacy manager Hoodah Abrahams-Fayker noted that the Easypay bank account – a joint operation between Grindrod Bank and Net1 subsidiary Moneyline – had fuelled indebtedness “as many loan sharks use this card to provide Citrus Loans often with no affordability tests‚ no proper avenues of recourse‚ no administrative justice and no debt counselling.

“Grant beneficiaries are trapped in a vicious cycle using debt to pay for food and basic living needs. Overindebtedness is a social and economic challenge with far-reaching consequences for vulnerable social grant recipients (who) can become easy prey for moneylenders as they are receiving a guaranteed monthly income from the state.”

Treasury noted in its presentation that there were currently gaps in the protection of the overly indebted. For example‚ there were weaknesses in the insolvency framework as sequestration did not work for those with no income and no assets. The debt review system only worked for those earning more than R7‚500 per month.

Treasury proposed that the debt review system be improved for those with some income. This could be completed “relatively quickly”. However‚ a mechanism was needed for those with no income. A revision of the Insolvency Act was under way but could take some time to finalise.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development also made technical suggestions to improve the proposed National Credit Amendment Bill.

In today’s retail and shopping centre landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult to compete for consumers’ attention, says Steven Burnstone, CEO and head of analytics for Eighty20 Consulting

Standing out and being attractive to consumers is not impossible-all it takes is an understanding of your customers.

Burnstone says that understanding one’s customer base is key. “The way businesses communicate to customers is one of the many areas that need to be focused upon. Businesses need to shift away from traditional, product-focused advertising models and focus on delivering advertising and promotional messages that are customer-focused and tailored to specific individuals.”

Burnstone shared invaluable insights at the eighth annual South African Council of Shopping Centres’ (SACSC) Research Conference on 9 May 2018.

South African customers are members of multiple programmes, receiving countless marketing messages across all channels. How can retailers set themselves apart and be heard in this competitive environment? Big data and artificial intelligence is enabling retailers to speak more accurately to customers and better understand what marketing strategies work best to drive feet in stores and grow customer satisfaction.

Customer behaviour changes achieved by promotional campaigns and loyalty programmes can be assessed.

“In highlighting the data required, methods used and the common problems encountered, we can uncover some of the nuances of customer behaviour change and what to look out for. We can look at some of the insights gained from these analyses and see how they can be used to systematically optimise these campaigns and programmes.

“These can improve the efficiency of marketing to customers, through personalised targeting of messaging and communication channel.”